“There are many things you can do.” Josias paternally asserts to Reuben, “For example, you can be like your Uncle Wally, head of a team of builders.”“Cool…” Reuben's eyes are twinkling.“You can study architecture and urbanism at university.” Alan decides to help, “Who knows, when Octavio retires...”Josias nods at his son's suggestion, “That's right, Alan. So you guys work together at headquarters.”“Imagine: James would be the CFO, Caio would be the Head of Engineering, Junior would be in Public Relations...” Alan feels a lump in his throat.“What is it, son?”“I was going to mention J.J.” Alan feels his voice shaking, “Dad, why did my brother have to die?”“He didn't HAVE to die, Alan.” Josias is moved, “It was an accident.”Reuben scratches his head, “Then why is Claud
At the Montanha Penthouse, Elza visits Diane to chat. The two have tea in the living room.“I miss Melissa and Kelvin.” Diane comments with a sigh, “They were the lifeblood of this penthouse.”Elza hints, “Too bad they had to go so far, huh?”“But it was for a good cause.” Diane smiles, “They are now running the new branch of the Crystal Blue restaurant.”“And do you intend to open more restaurants around?” Elza asks like someone who didn't want anything too much.But Diane grows suspicious of the visitor's questions, “It depends if business continues to boom...”“Pray that all goes well in Victoria.” Elza smiles mysteriously, “Or Melissa would have to go back and risk being my daughter-in-law again.”Diane's hands are shaking, making the cup rattle, “What are you talking about, Elza?”“You know…
In Daryl's office in Crystal Blue, he's enjoying Elton John's song “I Want Love” coming out of his computer speakers. He just got an email from Kelvin saying everything is fine in Victoria.Diane walks in and finds her husband like, “I'm glad you're smiling. Will we have good service today?”“All tables are booked.” Daryl extends the smile to his beloved wife, “So, are you pregnant?”Diane heaves a long, hopeless sigh, “I'm thinking of checking myself again. Or I must say long prayers in the Cathedral.”“Don't worry, darling, when we least expect it, you start to pass out and throw up.” Daryl jokes, “Kelvin sent me an email saying everything is fine.”“Good, dear.” Diane sits down, “I had a visit from Elza. She apparently wanted to chat and fit in with the new neighbor, but I don't know how, the conversation turned to Kelvin, Melissa, and why they
At Rocha Constructions, Josias has fun with Cláudio's exasperation.“What is it, partner? Why are you nervous?”“Why do you always think that a strong and attractive man is fatally a creep? I don't need to ‘chase’ any ‘helpless’ maiden, they are the ones who kneel at my feet begging for attention, just as Kate acted one day, back in 1998.”Josias breaks his smile at the mention of his late wife, “Leave my wife out of this.”“You were the one who started mentioning her. I just want to defend myself from the eternal pervert accusation. They even hinted that I’d try something with your ten-year-old daughter, how disgusting!”“OK, Claudio, I can't answer for the others, but I admit that I also had a bad impression of you. But you're not going to get justice by making a fuss to the media, posing as wronged as if I don't care about the death of my son and my wife.&
The day of the birth of Jane and Octavio's baby arrived.It was precisely on the day that Jane rested the most, according to Dr. Silvana’s instructions.She was at the hospital talking to a revamped Dr. Antenor, “My comrade, you look five years younger! Where are the dark circles, the stooped posture, and the yellow teeth?”“Come on, Silvana, did you want to see me ugly forever?” Antenor laughs, and then leans in closer as if sharing a secret, “I paid off my credit card debt!”“The one that was going for more than R$1,000.00?”“Exactly!” Antenor vibrates, “Actually, I paid R$800.00 because the bank gave me a discount for paying in cash.”Silvana is surprised, “I thought you had paid in installments! Antenor, have you finally hit the lottery?”Antenor grimaces, “I stopped burning money on this sh*t. No, friend, don't we get our salary? I've
Alfred, Tiago, Carmen, and Lorraine are outside just listening to Jane scream to deliver her son into the world.Lorraine tenses, “Will I be in the same situation when Ivan wants his heir?”Carmen smiles, “You can opt for a cesarean, my friend.”Lorraine giggles, “I think option #1 is the best.”Suddenly, a baby cry is heard.“YEAH!” Everyone applauds, “It worked!”The door opens and Octavio comes out, wearing a mask, cap, and blue gown, “My baby boy was born, everyone!”“Congratulations!” Alfred hugs him tightly.Elza and Vernon appear in a bit of a hurry, “Oh, looks like we got there just in time, or we missed the best part, dear.”Lorraine turns to Vernon, “If hearing the terrifying screams was the best part, then you definitely missed it.”Elza is moved, “How is she, Octavio?”“V
In the lobby of the Teodoro building, Patrick is unhappy with the turn of events. He explains his feelings to Beto to the sound of “He Loves U Not”, by Dream.“Try explaining that to Rosemary.” Patrick complains, “Thierry Nogueira doesn't love Rosemary, he just wants to be first on the list.”Beto is indignant, “There will be no 'list' of guys, Pat! You are the first, the last, and the only one!”“I'm not sure about that anymore, Mr. Reis.” Patrick lowers his head, “Your daughter is clearly in love with the beggar who turns out to be the guy who wants to pervert her, but she doesn't come out lest she ruins the idealized image she's created.”“This is just a phase, she'll recognize later.” Beto tries to console him.Patrick shakes his head, “I don't know, Mr. Reis. If she doesn't forget this madness of defending a man she doesn't know, I’ll be forced to b
Elza and Vernon visit Gabriela's apartment. They are greeted by the song “Soul on Soul” by Rod Stewart.João Paulo is cooking while Gabriela is in the bedroom.“Son, what a good smell!” Elza praises him, “What is it?”“A lentil stew with bacon that I'm improvising.” João Paulo smiles, “I hope I don’t poison anyone.”“I think the recipe is interesting.” Vernon sits down as if to stay for lunch, “What about our daughter-in-law?”João Paulo notices that nobody calls Gabriela by her name, “GABRIELA is in the room changing Sandra’s diapers.”Elza smiles, thinking that Gabriela is having a bad time with dirty diapers, “That's part of motherhood. When it was Josias's turn, Tony couldn't buy real diapers. I had to use a dishcloth.”João Paulo is horrified, “I'm glad I had a different father!
Josias visits the Rocha Hotel since he didn’t have a day off for the staff. In the management room, Eugenio gathered David, Benjamin, and Sybil. “Why is that mere cook present at this meeting?” David asked disparagingly. “Because that’s how our boss ordered it,” Eugenio replied dryly. “I didn’t say anything and didn’t call this meeting, so if you’ll excuse me...” Benjamin and Sybil were horrified to see David leaving the meeting just like that. However, when he opened the door, David came face to face with his father. “David, where do you think you’re going?” “DAD!” David exclaimed, extremely surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming!” “Didn’t Eugenio tell you I was coming?” Josias asked with a scowl. David understood who the ‘boss’ was. Benjamin and Sybil felt vindicated. Josias sat down at the desk, taking Eugenio’s seat, while the manager remained humbly standing. “Very well,” Josias began the meeting in a formal tone, “I’m here just to make things crystal clear. First
Melissa and Mary visit the Mountain Café.“A guava juice for me, Mr. Mountain!” Mary requested, smiling sweetly.“Of course, my princess!” Rodrigo replied, thinking Mary was very adorable. “Neil will make a delicious cup for you.”“Thank you. But the princess is Carol,” Mary responded, striking a serious pose.Melissa and Rodrigo laughed heartily. Mary is something else...“Rod, how has it been managing the café in your father’s absence?” Melissa asked seriously.Rodrigo served a baked chicken pastry with ketchup to Mary. “I'm getting by, Melissa. Josias was here earlier, more concerned about my loss than his own, as always. Isn’t he supposed to be resting?”Melissa nodded. “My husband is like that: he only relaxes when all of us are relaxed.”“An impossible mission because of certain people.”Neilton approached with the glass. “Who ordered a guava juice?”“I DID!” Mary grabbed the glass and went to a table.Melissa leaned forward, “Neil, Rod, how are Daryl and Diane? Behaving?”“Cont
At João Paulo’s house, he and Josias were about to have a significant conversation.“Walter, do you want to go with your mom to the kitchen?” João Paulo asked, looking at Helen. “I think she made some walnut cake.”“It was carrot cake,” Sandra replied, already getting up from the couch.“You got it.” Helen appeared and picked up Walter in her arms. “Let’s let Dad and Uncle Josias talk.”“Bye, Uncle!” Walter waved goodbye to Josias.“Bye-bye, I want a piece later!” Josias chuckled.Once alone with João Paulo, Josias became serious. “Don’t let anything or anyone ruin this family scenario, little brother.”“I’m fine. No one wants to ruin anything,” João Paulo replied casually.“Well, I hope David hasn’t caused you any trouble.”“He probably doesn’t even know I exist, man.” João Paulo shrugged.“But I stopped by Café Montanha and found out that the Vasquez family has replaced the Mountain family as the ‘annoying people.’”João Paulo sighed in disappointment. “Yeah. They—”The doorbell ran
Josias visits Café Montanha for a coffee and finds Rodrigo there. “Rod, how have you been?” Rodrigo is taken aback. “How am I? You’re the one who suffered a horrific loss recently!” “But you also lost your father. We’re in the same situation,” Josias explained as he sat down on a stool. “I’m okay, Josias. Life has a way of cheering me up. For example, I’m back at the diner after Thierry decided to take his place at the supermarket.” Rodrigo smiled. “What about the photography studio?” Josias smiled back. “It’s still going to operate, and Thierry will make periodic visits. But he’s going to appoint one of the staff to manage the studio.” Rodrigo served a pizza pastry to Josias. “Thank you. Well, I hope everything is alright between you two. I need to visit Rosemary and meet Jean Luc — is that the name of the baby?” “Yes, the name of the supermarket heir. Meanwhile, Frank will be here or somewhere else.” Josias interjected, “If Frank wants to work at Rocha Constructions, count
At the Rocha Mansion, Josias receives a visit from Benjamin. “How have you been, Ben? Any news about your parents?” The two embrace. “Actually, that’s what I want to talk about.” Benjamin scratches the back of his neck. The embrace breaks. “Let’s go to my office.” The two gentlemen enter Josias’s imposing office. “Any problems with Adolfo?” Josias asks, becoming serious. “Not yet, but I hope not to have any,” Benjamin replies with some sadness. “You know, Josias, what happened with your father made me think about my family, about how important it is for all of us to be together in the final moments.” “That’s true. João Paulo can tell you that better than I can.” “I think you can say it too. Vernon was the father you never had.” Benjamin clears his throat. “So, I’ve been looking into some hotels and realized there’s a demand at the Rocha Hotel in Victoria.” Josias looks at Benjamin, understanding where he’s going with this. “You want to go to Victoria to be close to your pare
Someone rings the doorbell at João Paulo’s house. The homeowner goes to answer after taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. But when he opened the door, João Paulo felt like slamming it in the visitor’s face. “Don’t be rude!” Erasmo exclaimed. “What do you want, you old bore?” João Paulo shot back. Erasmo barged into João Paulo’s foyer. “The mourning is over. Let’s pick up where we left off.” “Are you crazy? Who decides how long mourning lasts? We just got back from the trip!” “Not exactly, it’s been a day. Life goes on, my friend!” Erasmo replied mockingly. João Paulo remained serious. “But I don’t want to continue living this way, where fights and intrigues are the order of the day. Mr. Vasquez, you have a business to run, and I have a family to raise.” “But you found time to slap my son-in-law when he was here defending his family, didn’t you?” “Alan was extremely rude, but that was some time ago.” João Paulo frowned. “I don’t feel the same anger as before.” “So a
At the Vasquez Mansion, Alan could hardly believe that the people were thinking about more intrigues and disputes. “Guys, don’t you understand that I even forgot the reason I slapped Uncle João Paulo?” “Ridiculous!” Erasmo gestured. “You just maintained respect because it was a difficult occasion. But now, the mourning is OVER!” “Do you think João Paulo will rest, dear?” Sofia asked, sitting next to him. Alan shook his head. “If Uncle João Paulo doesn’t want to rest, then he is truly despicable. But my dad is back in town. He wouldn’t dare to do that.” The news should have been uplifting, but the members of the Vasquez family merely exchanged silent glances. With Josias present, it’s quite likely that he will put a stop to their fighting. Alan turned to Olivia. “In the meantime, we should celebrate the recovery of my dear mother-in-law!” Olivia and Sofia smiled awkwardly because of the secret they were keeping. “That’s right, let’s celebrate life!” Erasmo wrapped his arm arou
Josias Rocha and his family returned to Lagoon City. Those who were waiting for them stayed in the mansion and greeted them cheerfully in the foyer. “WELCOME BACK!” Melissa, crying, embraced her parents, William, and the twins fervently. Josias greeted them with a light smile. “Where’s João Paulo?” William asked. “He went straight to his house. His kids needed to rest from the trip.” Melissa wiped her tears with her fingers. “Alan went straight to his mansion. Especially now that his mother-in-law has woken up from the coma.” “That was a scare; I thought we’d have two funerals,” Simeon commented. Everyone headed to the living room. “Is Paris very beautiful, Mom?” Mary asked. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s stunning. We’ll go shopping together another time, okay?” “Do you have pictures?” Ignacio asked anxiously. “Yes, son, we took some pictures.” Melissa sat on the couch, pulling out a package from her bag. Josias sat in the armchair, taking a deep breath. William approached him.
At Café Montanha, Daryl walks in for a coffee and finds Rodrigo at the counter while Neilton serves the others. “Hey, are we back to the old tradition?” “Don’t be a clown, man.” Rodrigo laughs. “Yes, Thierry is at the supermarket, as we agreed.” “Hi, Neil. Can you make me a cappuccino while I enjoy a natural sandwich?” Daryl places his order. “Sure thing, Mr. Mountain.” Neilton heads to the back. Daryl sits on the stool. “So, how do you feel after getting back to your element?” “I don’t regret at all helping my dear wife at the supermarket, Daryl,” Rodrigo admitted while preparing the natural sandwich. “I’m not talking about regrets.” Daryl joked. “But it’s undeniable that after Uncle Francisco’s passing, you prefer to stay here, carrying on the legacy he left.” “Just like Crystal Blue.” Rodrigo smiled. “Hey, I’m aware that you’re looking to open another restaurant in Sunset Village. Do you think you can manage it? How’s the prospecting going?” Daryl picks up the sandwich but